Telling Our Stories | 2025 CNF Contest Recap
Our very first Creative Nonfiction contest gifted our staff with stories representing the full sweep of human experience within a breadth of formats and frames.
Though most writing contains the deep heart of the writer, CNF is a particularly vulnerable genre, as we the writers are handing over our very personalities on the page, stepping bare out from the covers of allegory and metaphor.
So we take extra care in adjudicating these pieces and focus more on the way the story is told, as all personal narratives are inherently valuable. But as we did have to choose winners (because we promised we would, even though it was hard), we thought we’d share the commonalities we found in our winning entries:
Grand Prize
In Rebecca Tiger’s winning entry, we are introduced to the titular “Strandbeest”* whose story is braided with the author’s impending loss. The piece is cinematic in its scenes as they flash, filled with color and smell and sound, the beautiful and the awful.
Slightly Less Grand Prize (The prize is less grand, not the work.)
Our second place piece, “Horse Story” from Bella Mahaya Carter, transports us to a cool dry day in New Mexico, with the sound of a drum marking our steps. Music, color, and rhythm welcome the reader into the space alongside Bella and the horse she sings to sleep.
Honorable Mentions
Ellen Notbohm uses a uniquely clever frame to gaze into the windows of others, in turn revealing her own bright, creative light in “People I Meet as Bookmarks.”
In “Peace and Desist” Donna Cameron explores the story of her name, deftly dancing through the detritus of the communally fraught territory for so many of us asked to opine on the impending monikers of our beloveds’ children.**
Doug Jacquier’s joyful yet traditional memoir “Cooler Than Kerouac” immerses us in universal teenage inanity, spiced with colorful Aussie turns of phrase, self deprecating wit, and head-shaking hindsight.
To recap, this round of prizes found us awarding fresh imagery, engagement with the five senses, and just a hint of whimsy. We are deeply grateful for each and every writer who participated this year, and we sincerely thank all our entrants for the opportunity to read and revel in your work.
Read all our prizewinning stories here.
* https://www.strandbeest.com/
** Your loyal Editor was told she very narrowly avoided being named Candida. Like the yeast. Her mother fervently denies this as complete fiction cooked up by her grandmother.
XO
